Watch Oasis perform a stunning acoustic version of ‘Live Forever’ back in 1994
There’s something special about your favourite rock stars stripping things back to basics and playing their songs through the analogues of old. Acoustic covers of your favourite anthems have a habit of touching your soul in a different way than what they have before, and that’s certainly the case for this piece of footage which sees Oasis deliver a seminal version of their anthem ‘Live forever’ from way back in 1994.
Now easily regarded as one of the biggest bands of the 1990s – and probably beyond – Oasis have always had a habit of knocking it out of the park when it comes to a live performance. But where they usually impress given a crowd of thousands, such as their iconic Knebworth shows or just about any time when they played Glastonbury festival, the group, led by Noel and Liam Gallagher, have also proved that given a small crowd and an acoustic setup, they were more than capable of hitting one beyond the lights. However, it does help when you have the canon to back it up.
The debut album by Oasis was something they had subconsciously been building towards for their entire lives. ‘Live Forever’ encompasses the uplifting and refreshing mantra that they swore by inside five minutes. It’s about being present in the moment and not letting life get you down, but on top of that, it’s just an unapologetic anthem with a killer chorus and solo to boot. Most bands search their entire careers to create a track like ‘Live Forever’, and Oasis did it the first time of asking.
When Q asked Liam Gallagher in 2008 about the best Oasis song, he instantly replied with ‘Live Forever’, and explained: “I think the words still mean something powerful. You talk about Oasis capturing a spirit, and I think that song is how a lot of people feel when they’re down on their luck. Even when we’re starting it now I always feel like we’re going to perform our best version of it. It makes me think of me mam. And it’s the song that makes me feel I have the best job in the band. I may not have written it, but I get to sing it.”
The classic piece of Britpop revelry isn’t just one of the band’s best songs, it is also one of the few things on which the notoriously warring brothers can agree. Noel Gallagher noted of the track: “With every song that I write, I compare it to The Beatles,” Noel once said. I’ve got semi-close once or twice, with ‘Live Forever,’ for example… the solo on that is one of the greatest things in rock music.”
While the track is custom-built for mammoth crowds and stadium-shaking performances, its bones are so sturdy that they can also be stripped of their flesh and still provide a most delicious broth of game-changing rock and roll. It is performances like this that confirmed Oasis weren’t just Mancunian brats with an amplifier, they were songsmiths of the highest pedigree.
Watch Oasis give a game-changing acoustic performance of ‘Live forever’ back in 1994.
